{"id":1113770,"date":"2019-05-01T19:13:50","date_gmt":"2019-05-01T19:13:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dailyreckoning.com\/?p=107314"},"modified":"2019-05-01T19:13:50","modified_gmt":"2019-05-01T19:13:50","slug":"5-tips-for-less-stress","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/juniorminingnews.com\/?p=1113770","title":{"rendered":"5 Tips for Less Stress"},"content":{"rendered":"

This post 5 Tips for Less Stress<\/a> appeared first on Daily Reckoning<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Think about the last five years\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

Can you recall an unexpected event that led to financial stress? Maybe a health crisis, layoff, leaky roof, or unexpected car repair.<\/span><\/p>\n

You\u2019re not alone. Approximately two-thirds of U.S. households experience an unexpected event that negatively impacts their financial wellbeing, according to Pew research.<\/span><\/p>\n

So it\u2019s no wonder the most common cause of money stress is the feeling that you\u2019re just one financial shock away from disaster. <\/span><\/p>\n

What\u2019s even more depressing, reducing financial stress when you don\u2019t make enough is nearly impossible.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cEven the kind of frugality that will theoretically bring you some relief will often require an investment of time or finances \u2014 and lacking money and time is exactly why you\u2019re feeling overwhelmed,\u201d says Emily Birken, author of End Financial Stress Now<\/i>.<\/span><\/p>\n

So what can you do if you\u2019re stressed about money? <\/span><\/p>\n

Birken recommends building some slack into your budget, which is possible at any income. Here is Birken\u2019s five-step plan to help relieve some of your financial stress:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Step 1. Adjust Your Tax Withholding <\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n

The average tax refund in 2018 was $2,895, which works out to more than $200 per month. One way to increase your monthly net without having to earn more money is to adjust your withholding. <\/span><\/p>\n

Birken recommends requesting a new W-4 from your Human Resources department and figuring out the right amount of allowances you should claim using the IRS calculator<\/span><\/a><\/strong>. <\/span><\/p>\n

Just remember, the tradeoff here is come tax time you won\u2019t be receiving a big pay day from Uncle Sam. But if it relieves some of your monthly financial worry, the adjustment could be worth it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Step 2. Start A Surprise Fund<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n

Different than an emergency fund, a surprise fund is slightly less robust and meant to help get you through small hiccups in your budget. <\/span><\/p>\n

The easiest way to start building a modest surprise fund is to set up automatic savings with your bank. <\/span><\/p>\n

Even if you sock away $5 a week, that\u2019s $260 you can tap into should the need arise. If you up your weekly auto-save amount to $10 a week, that\u2019s an extra $520 per year. You\u2019ll be surprised how quickly your surprise fund grows and how you won\u2019t notice the small amounts missing. <\/span><\/p>\n

Step 3. Negotiate Your Bills<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n

Easy wins in creating some slack in your finances include negotiating your bills, suggests Birken. It\u2019s considered easy money because you typically only have to do it once. And if you\u2019re successful, expect to save yourself an extra $20-40 every month. <\/span><\/p>\n

Even saving $20 per month on your cable bill works out to $240 a year. Think about all the recurring bills you have now that are negotiable. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cInternet, cable, cell phone, and auto insurance are service providers that are willing to adjust their pricing in order to keep customers,\u201d says Birken. \u201cIt costs them far more to land a customer than it does to keep a current one happy.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

There are several ways to go about negotiating your bills, do some research on Google and you\u2019ll find scripts and other tactics that can walk you through the process for specific providers. <\/span><\/p>\n

Step 4. Cancel Unused Subscriptions <\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n

Subscriptions you set on auto-pay are easy to overlook. One easy thing you can do is set subscriptions so they don\u2019t auto-renew. When you receive notification that your subscription is about to expire, that\u2019ll give you a chance to gauge whether you need it or not.<\/span><\/p>\n

For current subscriptions, look through your credit card and bank statements to determine which services you\u2019re signed up for and decide whether you want to cancel or not.<\/span><\/p>\n

Also identify services you\u2019re doubling up on. Maybe one TV streaming platform is enough or you can drop the gym membership if you\u2019re playing in a hockey league three nights a week. <\/span><\/p>\n

Step 5. Check Your Bank Balance Daily <\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n

It\u2019s easy to leave bills and bank statements unopened to avoid the pain of reality. If you\u2019re serious about adding some slack to your budget, you need to check your bank balance on a regular basis. <\/span><\/p>\n

I suggest setting a reminder on your cell phone to check once a day. Start extreme and get in the habit of checking daily so you\u2019re more mindful of how much you\u2019re spending and where your money goes every week. The added benefit of daily checks is if you\u2019re running low on funds, you can catch it before you get dinged on overdraft fees. <\/span><\/p>\n

You\u2019ll also see your spending habits and know if you have a particularly spendy month. If you\u2019re spending a lot, you can make sure you slow down next month. <\/span><\/p>\n

These are just a few of the ways you can lessen your financial worries without having to get a big raise or take on a new side hustle to up your income. <\/span><\/p>\n

Be diligent about saving and keep a close eye on where your money goes and you\u2019ll build enough slack to keep your mind at ease.<\/span><\/p>\n

To a richer life,<\/p>\n

\"Nilus<\/p>\n

\u2014 Nilus Mattive
\nEditor, The Rich Life Roadmap<\/i><\/p>\n

The post 5 Tips for Less Stress<\/a> appeared first on Daily Reckoning<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This post 5 Tips for Less Stress<\/a> appeared first on Daily Reckoning<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Approximately two-thirds of U.S. households experience an unexpected event that negatively impacts their financial wellbeing, according to Pew research. So it’s no wonder the most common cause of money stress is the feeling that you’re just one financial shock away from disaster.<\/p>\n

The post 5 Tips for Less Stress<\/a> appeared first on Daily Reckoning<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":55,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[500,1833,366,490,2531,2532,2533,2534,923],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/juniorminingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1113770"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/juniorminingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/juniorminingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/juniorminingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/55"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/juniorminingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1113770"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/juniorminingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1113770\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1113771,"href":"https:\/\/juniorminingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1113770\/revisions\/1113771"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/juniorminingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1113770"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/juniorminingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1113770"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/juniorminingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1113770"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}